Denzel Washington Leaves Unstoppable Behind

When reports came out a few weeks ago that Tony Scott's Unstoppable was being put on hold, one of the given reasons was Denzel Washington's astronomical $20 million asking price. Now that's a problem they won't be facing-- Washington has officially dropped out of the film, according to Variety.

His absence won't technically end the film-- Fox is apparently already looking for other stars to take his place. The scuffle happened when the studio, trying to shave the $100 million budget by about $10 million, asked Washington to cut his asking price, and he turned it down. You can't blame them for trying-- The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 has grossed just $66 million worldwide, and indeed, no Tony Scott movie has even crossed $100 million domestic since 1998's Enemy of the State.

Chris Pine is apparently still onboard-- ha!-- the train-centric film, and given the fairly generic nature of the plot-- a runaway train, well, runs away-- it probably won't be that hard to find someone to replace Washington. But Tony Scott has lost his muse, not to mention his ability to command a $100 million budget. Even if Unstoppable goes on, things probably won't be the same after this.